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Trip down memory lane: Let's relive each of Rohit Sharma's 31 ODI tons

By Mumbai Indians

Cricket is Professor Utonium, and they mixed elegance with the bat and immaculate entertainment instead of ‘sugar, spice and everything nice’ in the experiment to produce a unique cricketer for India. The addition of chemical X - AKA Hitman - in the procedure gave rise to one of the rare colossal players of all time, Rohit Gurunath Sharma.

The Hitman, who has now crossed the 10,000 runs mark in 50-over cricket, had to wait three years from 2007 to earn his maiden century in One Day Internationals. A further 13 years later, he has notched 31 hundreds, of which eight have come against the mighty Australians.

What’s more? He is now the third-highest among centurions in ODI cricket after surpassing Ricky Ponting (30), a living legend of the game and also someone who is fondly remembered as a member of our fa-MI-ly.

We wind the clock to Rohit Sharma’s triple-figure knocks in the iconic Blue of the Indian cricket team.

#1 - 114 vs Zimbabwe, Bulawayo (28 May 2010): The three-year wait ends. The official annunciation of the Hitman legacy came when India was 57/2 inside the 10th over. Enter Rohit Sharma, and he owned the innings with six fours and four sixes, including 69 off his last 36 balls to rise to his maiden ODI century, and lift India to a strong total. Alas, it wasn’t strong enough on the day.

#2 - 101* vs Sri Lanka, Bulawayo (30 May 2010): This didn’t take long. Three years for the first century, the second in consecutive games. Against the Lankans, Rohit started off in risky fashion after coming on when India were 47/2. But the uneasiness slowly faded as he soaked in the pressure to score an unbeaten 101 in 100 balls. The support of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina helped the Hitman triumph over damp conditions, and got India back to winning ways in the 2010 Zimbabwe Triangular Series.

#3 - 141* vs Australia, Jaipur (16 October 2013): Another three-year wait followed. But as if making up for lost time, Rohit - the opener by now - brought a stampede on the Aussie bowling attack with his unbeaten 141 off just 123 balls - studded with 17 boundaries and four maximums. Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner, and even the stadium audience, needed refreshments to digest what they saw as he fought off cramps to notch his first ODI ton on home soil. Just for context: India hunted down a whopping 359-run target with 39 balls to spare!

#4 - 209 vs Australia, Bengaluru (2 November 2013): You have seen volcanic eruptions, but how about this eruption on Mt. Rohit Sharma? The third player to hit a 200-plus score after Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the Indian opener fleshed out 12 fours and a then-record 16 sixes to reach his 100 in 114 balls and 200 in 156 balls. His effort laid the foundations for India’s incoming victory and sealing a come-from-behind 3-2 series win.

#5 - 264 vs Sri Lanka, Eden Gardens (13 November 2014): The peak. The summit. The madness. Coming back from injury at his beloved Eden Gardens, he put on a show, studded with 33 fours and nine sixes to bring up ODI cricket’s highest individual score ever, 264. All Sri Lankan batters put together couldn’t get as much!

#6 - 138 vs Australia, Melbourne (2 November 2015): For the first time since his debut ton, the Hitman locked in a triple-figure score in a losing cause. His innings, which lasted 228 minutes, lifted India to 267/8. However, the Aussies would chase the target with an over to spare.

#7 - 137 vs Bangladesh, Melbourne (19 March 2015): Rohit adopted a “start slow to finish strong” approach, as he grabbed onto the early pressures of the Bangladeshi bowlers and used it for a joyride later - from 60 in 80 balls to 137 off 126 balls in the all-important World Cup quarter-final. His brilliance allowed India to post their highest-ever score in ICC ODI World Cup knockout matches (302/6) and advance into the semis.

#8 - 150 vs South Africa, Kanpur (11 October 2015): Putting the disappointment of the Bangladesh tour behind him, the Hitman notched his third ODI century in 2015 against South Africa in a 35-degree-cauldron at the Green Park of Kanpur. Batting the energy-sapping heat, he blasted 13 fours and six sixes in his humble effort in the 300-plus run chase. However, fate wasn’t on his side that day, as India lost the match in the final over.

#9 - 171* vs Australia, Perth (12 January 2016): Rohit Sharma opened his bank account of centuries in 2016 with a patient unbeaten century. The run progression - 36 (34 balls) to 50 (63 balls) to 100 (122 balls) to 150 (155 balls) and finally, 171 (163 balls) - underlined the batting formula that the Hitman had mastered - wait patiently and then cash in. With a wave of Aussies of Indian descent backing him with shouts of ‘Rohit! Rohit!’, our talismanic icon absorbed it all and elevated the Team India total to 309/3 in 50 overs.

#10 - 124 vs Australia, Brisbane (15 January 2016): With a fourth ODI ton in his last five innings against Australia since 2013, Rohit Sharma ensured his romance with the mighty Aussies stayed strong despite results not going India’s way. In his 175-minute stay at the crease, he whacked 11 fours and three sixes before James Faulkner ran him out.

#11 - 123* vs Bangladesh, Birmingham (15 June 2017): A maiden century in the ICC Champions Trophy and what a time to achieve it. India required 265 to book their fourth final in seven ICC tournaments since 2010, and the Hitman kept punching in boundaries and sixes (15 fours, one six) against Bangladesh on a flat pitch with no deviation at Birmingham. The batting propelled Rohit to his first triple-figure score of 2017.

#12 - 124* vs Sri Lanka, Pallekele (27 August 2017): Rohit’s 12th ODI ton was his eighth overseas - thus underlining how prolific and essential he is for India’s ODI assignments across the globe. He was in the driver’s seat throughout the 218-run chase, drifting past the narrow roadblocks put by the likes of Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera and Vishwa Fernando to remain unbeaten or score 150-plus in seven of his ten ODI hundreds since 2013.

#13 - 104 vs Sri Lanka, Colombo (RPS) (31 August 2017): For the first time since 2010, Rohit Sharma didn’t quite convert his century into a daddy hundred; however, on the bright side, this was the third time he scored hundreds in successive ODIs. An 88-ball 104 packed with 11 fours and three sixes - at a strike rate of 118.18 - enabled the Men in Blue to set a match-winning total of 375/5 in the first innings.

#14 - 125 vs Australia, Nagpur (1 October 2017): Slow and steady wins the race. Rohit Sharma did that as he notched his first ODI ton in his birth city of Nagpur. With no run off the first 14 balls he faced, the Hitman identified his targets in Adam Zampa (27 runs), Nathan Coulter-Nile (25 runs) and Travis Head (23 runs) to accelerate to 125 in 109 balls.

#15 - 147 vs New Zealand, Kanpur (29 October 2017): A game of milestones for Rohit, as he notched up 150 ODI sixes (165 innings), the third venue where he has two ODI tons (Queen’s Sports Club - 2010, MCG - 2015). It came through a record-breaking fourth 200-plus partnership in ODIs with Virat Kohli. Powered by 18 fours and two sixes, our star went on a rampage against the Kiwi bowlers as he got India from 29/1 to 259/2.

#16 - 208* vs Sri Lanka, Mohali (13 December 2017):

Record-breaker. Punisher. Merciless. The day when Rohit Sharma officially became the only player to hit three double hundreds in ODIs. 20 off 37 balls, then 50 off 65 balls, 100 off 115 balls and eventually 200 in 151 balls, including a dash from 116 to 208 off just 27 balls, thanks to 11 sixes and three fours. A perfect gift to his wife on their wedding anniversary.

#17 - 115 vs South Africa, Gqeberha (13 February 2018): This century was the Hitman’s answer to his critics who felt he had a ‘dip in form’ in India’s tour of South Africa. His 115, infused with 11 fours and four sixes, was a driving force in the Men in Blue winning the fifth ODI and their maiden ODI bilateral series in South Africa.

#18 - 137* vs England, Nottingham (12 July 2018): One of those rare ODI innings where England’s bowlers were decimated to the T. India had a target - 269 from 50 overs - and the Hitman made a mockery of it with his exquisite selection of shots (15 fours and four sixes), capitalising on the spinners in Adil Rashid (42 runs) and Moeen Ali (36 runs). Ultimately, the Men in Blue won the chase with 59 balls remaining. This knock became the highest ODI score by an Indian against England in England.

#19 - 111* vs Pakistan, Dubai (DSC) (23 September 2018): This was the second meeting between Rohit Sharma and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2018, and he smashed yet another 50-plus score against our arch-rivals. Well, even BETTER. 114 runs, seven fours, four sixes and some unboxing of runs from the gifts by Shadab Khan (30 runs), Hasan Ali (23 runs) and Mohammad Nawaz (21 runs). The result? Nine-wicket victory thanks to Hitman’s first-ever ODI ton against PAK.

#20 - 152* vs West Indies, Guwahati (21 October 2018): Chasing a 300-plus target is difficult? Not in Rohit’s dictionary. While he reached 50 in 51 balls, the Hitman raced to 100 in the next 33 balls and 150 in another 33 to pioneer India to chase 323 in just 42.1 overs against the Windies. His onslaught, alongside that of Virat Kohli (140), was just another display of the festive bonanza he brings with the bat for Indian cricket.

#21 - 162 vs West Indies, Brabourne (29 October 2018): Give Rohit Sharma a good batting surface, and the man will gift you an IMAX experience of immense batting power, decisive shot placement and a victory for India in front of the faithful. In the 137 balls he faced, he showered 20 fours and four sixes that engulfed the Windies bowlers.

#22 - 133 vs Australia, Sydney (12 January 2019): After hitting 11 centuries in a winning cause, Hitman’s latest effort to drive India to a win with a hundred was cut short by Australia’s Marcus Stoinis at the SCG. His knock - 10 fours and six sixes in 129 balls - was achieved with special treatment reserved for Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle.

#23 - 122* vs South Africa, Southampton (5 June 2019): Although a patient century, the unbeaten 122 was the starting point of his glorious 2019 Cricket World Cup run. In his 212 minutes at the crease, Rohit was the backbone of India’s 228-run chase and helped them achieve the victory with 15 balls to spare.

#24 - 140 vs Pakistan, Manchester (16 June 2019): A unique master of malice with the bat, the Hitman used the occasion - INDvPAK - to paint all the corners of the Manchester stadium BLUE with 14 boundaries. Five of those came against Hasan Ali, who also conceded 41 runs in the 26 balls bowled to Rohit.

#25 - 102 vs England, Birmingham (30 June 2019): India were handed a massive target of 338, and as you may expect, the Hitman was the ship's leader hoping to land on the winning side. His 109-ball 102, laced with 15 boundaries, lifted India from 8/1 to 198/3, but his cameo, however, fell just short of guiding his side home.

#26 - 104 vs Bangladesh, Birmingham (2 July 2019): With the result against England still fresh in everyone’s minds, Mr. 45 unleashed his fury on the Bangladesh bowlers with his yet-another century against them at the world stage. Striking at 113.04, with seven fours and five sixes in the mix, the Hitman set the momentum for India’s score of 314/9 and invariably sent the Bangla Tigers out of the 2019 CWC.

#27 - 103 vs Sri Lanka, Leeds (6 July 2019):

Record-breaker. Inspiration. Trend-setter. Hitman. Rohit Sharma set a precedent with his composed 103 off 94 balls and his 14 boundaries that were poked through the fencing around Headingly. Lasith Malinga, Dhananjaya de Silva and Isuru Udana were among the Lankan bowlers who received his immaculate blessings with the bat.

#28 - 159 vs West Indies, Visakhapatnam (18 December 2019): In a game where Kuldeep Yadav impressed with his second career ODI hat-trick, Rohit Sharma earned himself plaudits for notching his seventh hundred in 2019 - two short of Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record for most ODI centuries in a calendar year (nine). His exploits helped India draw level in the three-match ODI series.

#29 - 119 vs Australia, Bengaluru (19 January 2020): The very innings that established Rohit’s status as the supremo in deciders of bilateral ODI series. He smashed eight fours and six sixes in his 119-run show that took his tally to 707 runs in ODI series deciders, surpassing the tally of AB de Villiers (630 runs).

#30 - 101 vs New Zealand, Indore (24 January 2023): It was a three-year wait, thanks to Covid and the break in ODI’s that Rohit took leading up to the 2022 T20 World Cup, but when the century eventually came, it was all worth it. It took 85 balls and 113 minutes to alter his playing strategy and switch to the new ODI template of instant acceleration with the bat. This century saw him go level with Aussie icon Ricky Ponting on 30 ODI hundreds.

#31 - 131 vs Afghanistan, Delhi (11 October 2023): The World Cup romance continues, and this time with a brutal pasting of Afghanistan’s poor bowlers, who had absolutely no answers to beast mode that Hitman had unleashed. With 16 fours and five sixes, he smashed a bunch of records - notching up India’s fastest WC ton, and becoming the player with the most World Cup centuries.